My earlier comment was incomplete and rightfully and unfortunately led to the wrong conclusions. My apologies. Veteran status is a plus, just like having a college degree, having certain domain experience, etc. It is not, at least for me, a sole hiring factor and never could be. When I said the others go to the bottom of the list, that was more of a figurative statement. I’ve met and interviewed people over the years and mostly go with my gut more than the rest of the parameters we might consider. A candidate might have all the right check boxes marked but still be the worst possible candidate. End of day, I want and have been very successful getting the right people into the right jobs at the right time. My business depends on it. (And for those idiots that want to do head counts of gender, ethnicity, religion, service history, and all of that, my hiring and experience ends up with a diverse mix without ever giving that explicit or even casual focus.)
Thanks for clarifying. My partner would always look for a Sargent (or equivalent) when hiring line supervisors. That said, today’s army isn’t what I am used to. Some great people still but it now seems there are far more duds. I’m with you on diversity. My company is diverse alright and many of them are far removed me from on me on morals, religion, life style but I hire people who help make money.